by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

by Jim Corbett, USA TODAY Sports

INDIANAPOLIS - A comeback for the ages began with a third-quarter interception.

It hardly felt like the most impressive chapter to date when assessing second-year Indianapolis Colts quarterback Andrew Luck's growing legend. But aside from his strong arm and rugged mobility, he showed one other prerequisite that elite quarterbacks must possess: selective amnesia.

Luck flashed that rare quality when he sparked the second biggest comeback in league history, rallying the Colts from a four-touchdown deficit to an improbable 45-44 wild-card elimination of the Kansas City Chiefs.

After Luck's first pass of the second half was picked off, Kansas City quarterback Alex Smith hit rookie tailback Knile Davis for a 10-yard touchdown that put the Colts in a seemingly insurmountable 38-10 hole.

"You have to flush it, you have to forget about it," said Luck, who threw for 443 yards and four touchdowns. "It felt like for a moment there, I was trying to lose this game. ... I'm happy that coaches, players stuck by me and trusted in me."

Luck hit 29 of 45 passes overall but completed 17 of 24 for 314 yards with three touchdown passes in the second half as the Colts knocked out the Chiefs (11-6), who saw their remarkable campaign end in dramatic fashion one year after they finished a league-worst 2-14.

Only the Buffalo Bills' climb from a 32-point hole to beat the Houston Oilers 41-38 in overtime Jan. 3, 1993, proved a greater playoff comeback than Indianapolis'.

"One for the ages," Colts coach Chuck Pagano said. "(Trailing by) (t)wenty one wasn't enough at the half so we thought we'd give them another seven just to make it interesting.

"But our guys are unbelievable."

The Colts (12-5) will face either their former quarterback, Peyton Manning, and the Denver Broncos or Tom Brady's New England Patriots in next weekend's divisional round.

"We never panicked. We hope this isn't the highest of the highs," said Luck. "We don't want the journey to end next weekend."

One fourth-quarter sandlot play epitomized Luck's uncanny knack for always knowing what to do under duress.

Trailing 41-31 and facing second down from the Kansas City 2 yard-line, Colts tailback Donald Brown was rocked by safety Eric Berry. The football went flying - but right into Luck's hands. He took a running dive across the goal line from 5 yards out, though it was merely a precursor to his game-winning, 64-yard scoring strike to T.Y. Hilton that sealed this thriller with 4:21 left.

"To show the confidence to pick it up, jump over the pile and score - we don't practice Walter Payton drills in practice," Colts backup quarterback Matt Hasselbeck said. "I was thinking about, 'What would I do in a situation like that?' I'd love to think I'd do the same thing.

Despite losing electric tailback Jamaal Charles, starting receiver Donnie Avery and cornerback Brandon Flowers to concussions, Smith was the primary reason the Chiefs led by four touchdowns in the second half. The former San Francisco 49ers passer, whom first-year coach Andy Reid secured in a March trade for a pair of second-round picks, hit 30 of 46 passes for 378 yards and four touchdowns.

Despite missing so many weapons, including Davis (knee injury) late in the game, Smith drove the Chiefs 58 yards on 11 plays to set up Ryan Succop's 43-yard field goal for a 44-38 lead with 5:36 left.

But then Luck happened.

The top pick of the 2012 draft took a shotgun snap and roped that deep strike as Hilton (franchise-best 13 receptions for 224 yards with two touchdowns) split safeties Quintin Demps and Kendrick Lewis on first-and-10 from the Indianapolis 36.

It all felt like the beginning of a growing legend as Luck continues building his own pedestal next to Manning's.

"I'm happy to be here to see how hungry he is - I saw it happen early in my career with Brett Favre," said Hasselbeck, who began his career behind the Green Bay Packer icon in 1998.

"There were some crazy things that shouldn't have worked, and yet they worked because of Andrew.